


Painful Illusions

by LeggoWrites



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Mentions/Descriptions Of Torture, More tags to be added?, Oops All Trauma!, Phantom Ruby, Sonic Forces
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:28:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23212540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeggoWrites/pseuds/LeggoWrites
Summary: After Sonic's defeat at the hands of Doctor Eggman and Infinite, he awoke aboard the Death Egg. The last thing he can remember is staring up at some strange new villains face and Tails screaming his name before everything faded into black. What went wrong? He failed, that's what. And now a war's broken out that he can't do anything about because he's kinda busy enduring his own waking nightmare. Eggman's plans for revenge are in full swing now the he has him right where he wants him, and it's not pretty on his end..{Essentially: An exploration on what those 6 months aboard The Death Egg were probably like on Sonic's side of things.}
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	Painful Illusions

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Surprisingly enough in all my searching, I've yet to find many fics talking about the beginning segment of Sonic Forces.. So, I decided to take it upon myself and write this up! I'll be trying to write more chapters, but I don't really know how far I'll get along. Please be warned, there will most likely be some dark themes ahead, so stay safe! That being said, please enjoy.

It took longer than expected for him to gain full consciousness. He’d been drifting in and out for the last hour or so, unable to stay awake for more than a minute before his eyes would shut once again. But it seemed that this one was the lucky strike, considering that it’d been a few minutes of him laying on the floor with this pounding headache. Honestly, part of him preferred being knocked out compared to the stinging sensation that seemed to be coming from.. Well, everywhere. Although his memory was a bit fuzzy at the moment, thanks to the small ‘nap’ he’d taken no doubt. But he wasn’t too worried yet. Ok, maybe opening his eyes and seeing electrified blue prison bars wasn’t the most relieving sight ever, but it wasn't’ the end of the world. He’d worry about a way past those soon, but first he’d have to check up on just how bad he’d been beaten.

With a loud groan and a hiss, he slowly forced himself into a sitting position. Chaos, his head definitely didn’t appreciate that movement- but raising his hand up to clutch his forehead revealed something a smidge more alarming. Handcuffs. Bright blue, with the faint sound of electricity buzzing to them. Giving a few experimental tugs, it was clear to see they were tough and provided little to no wiggle room. He’s almost sure if they weren’t over his glove, he could lift it and see a ring already forming around his wrists. Taking a small inhale, he slowly averts his gaze and begins looking himself over. He’ll stress over it once he figures out more details. He can’t afford to start worrying so quickly.

It looked fairly standard, the dried bloodstains on some patches of fur and a few scrapes, but nothing too bad. Nothing that he couldn’t fix whenever he managed to get himself back home. Sitting for another minute or so for his head to clear, he slowly took in his surroundings. There wasn’t much to take in to begin with, but it couldn’t hurt to try and find something noteworthy. On the wall farthest away from the bars was a metal bench, but other then that it was all the same cold, unfeeling boxed in gray. Not even a window or anything to provide some context on a plan yet. He gives a small, irritated sort of huff before speaking.

“Ya know, if ya plan on tryna keep my locked up, the least you could do is give me somethin to look at.”

Waiting a few moments for some kind of response, he proceeds to stand himself up instead of sitting like some kind of idiot. If Eggman wanted to show up anytime soon, he’d rather look ready for it then caught off guard. Speaking of Eggman.. He couldn’t help but let his mind wander. Why had Shadow and everyone else started working for him again? He thought they were all on their side now! It didn’t make sense. Maybe he’d offered them something? And that new guy.. That’s how he’d gotten here, wasn’t it? The puzzle pieces slowly started connecting in his head until he could get a pretty clear memory of what exactly happened. He hadn’t even caught the guys name before he’d started kicking him around like a ragdoll. And before he’d even managed to land a good, real hit on any of them he was already down for the count. He mentally cursed himself for that. How’d he let himself get that banged up so easily? Hopefully all those people back there were alright.. And Tails. He was a good kid, he could fend for himself but that didn’t stop him from thinking about him.

His thoughts were cut short at the sound of approaching footsteps, snapping him to attention as the doctor walked out in front of him. He’s wearing the same sinister look as usual, which in turn makes the hedgehog crack the usual smug grin.

“It’s about time you showed your face! Don’t you know it’s rude to keep a guest waiting? But then again, I shouldn’t expect you to know manners in the first place, should I?”

The attitude only causes the doctors grin to widen. Oh, how sweet it will be to see all that false confidence crumble out from underneath the hedgehog..

“In case those cuffs and everything else hasn’t made it clear enough for you, you're not a guest. You're a prisoner of war.” 

Well, that seemed to get a chuckle out of Sonic. Him? A prisoner? Eggman really must be dreaming. Sure, he might be locked up now, but he’d break out in… he’d give it less then a week. And if he couldn’t do it alone, which was unlikely to begin with, everyone else would come for him. So overall, this whole thing was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

“Ha! You wish. Prisoner is already a stretch, but prisoner of war? Far as I remember, there was no war. If you wanna lie to me, at least try and be convincing!”

Now it was the doctors turn to laugh. It was a loud laugh, but not cheerful in the slightest. No, this one was meant to cut like a cold, sharp blade. Hearing that laugh wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, but something about this one just felt wrong.

“Don’t be so sure, rodent! I’m sure you won’t be so inclined to think so after I show you this..”

And in no time Orbot was rolling to be by the doctors side, unfurling himself from his ball. He looked almost.. Sympathetic. For what? Well, he was about to find out.

“Orbot! Show our little… friend here what’s going on down there.”

“Doctor, are you sure you would like to-”

“Yes I’m sure! I’m more than sure! Now stop asking questions and just roll the footage!”

With a harsh smack on the back of Orbots head, he gives a loud sigh before blinking. And once he opens his eyes again, a screen is shown in front of him. And on that screen showed..

“Knuckles! Get the people to safety, we can’t have them running around when our hands are already full!”

“What do you think I’m trying to do Amy!? Maybe this would go a little faster if I had a little help!”

“We don’t have anyone else who can help!”

The both of them were in a city, covered in smoke. Flames rose high into the horizon, and the sky.. The sun wasn’t shining through anymore due to the amount of pure smoke covering it. It was a pure, dark shade of red. Screams were clearly heard in the background, and whatever was left of the crumbling buildings would shudder as bombs exploded a short distance away. 

Although, that distance away seemed to close in closer and closer until-

“Guys, LOOK OUT-!”

BOOM. There was a loud explosion and a scream before the screen shut off, leaving Sonic to stare in shock at the empty air before him, a hand outstretched as if he could reach them, push them out of harm's way.

That… It couldn’t be real, could it? He had to have edited that up somehow, things couldn’t be that bad! He has to force himself out of the thoughts swelling in his mind to try and give some kind of retort, but he’s cut off before the words can even come out.

“Not a pretty sight, eh? All real, I can assure you I didn’t make any of that up. A funny thing, how when the world's hero dies everything can fall to madness so quickly..”

Wait. Dies? But he was right here! And unless his eyes were playing tricks on him and he was some kind of ghost, he was definitely still alive. 

“Then that footage must’ve been fake then, because I’m still here. Talking to you, as unfortunate as that is.”

“And that, my old friend, is where you're wrong. The only people who know you're alive are yourself, me, and whoever I’ve decided to inform. And your friends aren’t on that list. So as far as they know, you died in Sunset Heights. The last thing they ever saw of you was getting beat into the ground by Infinite and everyone else, and me, carrying your limp body away. You're truly at my mercy.”

That was everything and anything besides a pretty thought. That couldn’t be the truth.. But at the same time it made sense. He’d heard Tails scream his name before he blacked out, and if Eggman really had carried him off like that before he could get a proper scan on his vital signs then was it really that big of a conclusion to jump too? Yes. It had to be. His friends could never believe he’d die that easily. He’d been through worse, much worse before and lived.

“As if that’s supposed to scare me. Even if that is the truth, they’d never think I’d go down that easy. They know me better than anyone else, and a lot better than you think apparently!”

Even if worries tendrils were slowly starting to grab a hold of him, he needed to stay confident. Masking his emotions was a skill he’d slowly gained over the years. No matter how bad any battle may seem, it was rare he ever let that mask crack. He didn’t plan on letting that change now.

And while he was here, he knew Eggman wouldn’t do anything too over the top. Maybe bore him to death but not much else. He knew him. They’d fought for years on end, nearly his entire life! Eggman even went so far as to save his life and work together with him once or twice. Their dynamic was a strange one for sure. They always had some unspoken kind of pact, about when was too far and when to stop. As long as that was kept, he had no real worry. But the real question was, would it?

“You’ll find out just how terrifying it can be soon enough.. I’m more than sure Infinite would love to have something to test the full potential of his powers on! After he’s done tearing your world to shreds that is. In the meantime however, I’ll leave you to think on what you’ve seen. You’ll need to rest up all you can to be ready. Soon, you’ll know how it feels to feel nothing at all.”

And with that he turned on his heel, giving a mocking wave before walking off. Orbot seemed to stay behind for a moment before the words “Hurry up!” were shouted back at him. And in a few moments, Sonic was left with nothing but silence, his own thoughts, and a vague feeling of dread looming over him.


End file.
